What My Family Ate For Dinner - Week 5

We finally got back on track this week (kind of). It was great being away and enjoying all the yummy Southern food, but your waistline can only handle so much of that, right? Here's what we ate this week...

Sunday, March 30: We met up with my niece Lorren and her boyfriend (referred to as "the boyfriend" by the kids). We had a late lunch, so it was just snacks that night.

Monday, March 31 AND Tuesday, April, 1: Meatball Stroganoff with roasted asparagus. I love this recipe, but it makes SO much! We enough for lunch and dinner on Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 2: I found this yummy Pork Stew recipe and it's so simple! Plus, you can customize it to your own tastes.

Aaron had THREE helpings of this and ate every veggie I put in it (mushrooms, carrots, celery, red potatoes, tomatoes and onion).

All you have to do for this recipe is brown your pork chops, chop your veggies, throw everything in your slow cooker with some seasonings and let it cook for 8 hours. Top it with some parmesan cheese and dig in!


Thursday, April 3: Here's where the 'kind of' comes into play. After a pretty crazy day my frolleague (you know, friend who's also a colleague) and I were talking about dinner and she said they were having pizza. I instantly sent a text to Scott that simply read, "Pizza." We were both sold. It was perfection.

Friday, April 4: The 'kind of' continues. PawPaw gave us quite a scare and while Scott met him at the hospital, I grabbed the kiddos and went home. The veggie gumbo we were going to have sat a little too long in the slow cooker. It was not pleasant looking. We both snacked that night.

Saturday, April 5: I found this super stuffed potato recipe on Prevention's website and it is ridiculously delicious. I did cheat and use the microwavable baked potatoes because it is already in the upper 80's down here. The idea of running my oven at 425 for an hour just makes me miserable.

The potatoes are stuffed with broccoli, turkey bacon and a cheese sauce that you make yourself. It was definitely filling, especially since we paired it with a salad.

Aaron even had some of this and enjoyed it.

I hope you enjoy!

Chicken with Sauteed Apples and Swiss Chard

The weather finally changed down here and it actually felt like Fall...well, Florida Fall. I wanted to make something to compliment the season and one of my favorite things during the Fall is apples. This recipe was perfect.

Here's what you need:

1 large bunch of Swiss chard
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tart-sweet apple (like Gala), sliced
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Here's what you'll do:

Trim stems and center ribs from the Swiss char and chop stems and ribs. Thinly slice the leave crosswise.
Sprinkle chicken with half of the salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Add chicken and cook, turning once, for 4-5 minutes per side or until browned on both sides. Transfer to plate.
Add garlic, apple, the remaining salt, apple juice and mustard to the skillet.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Stir in Swiss chard stems and leaves.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Return chicken and any accumulated juices from the plate to the pan.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Nutritional facts per serving (this recipe makes 4 servings):
Calories: 217
Total fat: 5 g
Saturated fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 66 mg
Sodium: 608 mg
Carbohydrate: 14 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 29 g
Calcium: 17 mg
Iron: 2.0 mg

I liked the chicken in this dish, but the chard and apples were ruined by the mustard for me. I'm not a huge mustard fan and did not think it would be that overpowering when I made it. I may forfeit it the next time I make it, or simply make some without it for myself. Scott and Aaron both loved it with the mustard.